Accelerator debuts Lodo

Accelerator Corp. (Seattle, Wash.) formed its second New York City biotech with the launch of Lodo Therapeutics Corp., which is developing small molecules from microbial sources such as soil bacteria and the human microbiome.

Investors in Lodo's $17 million series A round are all Accelerator investors. They include AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV), Alexandria Venture Investments, Arch Venture Partners, Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY), Harris & Harris, the Johnson & Johnson Innovation-JJDC venture arm of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), the Partnership Fund for New York City, Pfizer Venture Investments, Watson Fund and the WuXi PharmaTech Inc. unit of New WuXi Life Science Ltd. (Shanghai, China). The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation also participated. ...